Head down to the local South African steakhouses, and you won’t struggle to find plenty of stock of creamy spinach! But that’s not the only place you’ll find it! As it turns out, Saffas think spinach, especially the creamy kind, should feature in every kind of meal – and it does. It’s great with steak, seafood, and even the chilled at-home braai. Is there any occasion where creamed spinach wouldn’t be the star of the show? We think not! As far as good South African food goes, creamed spinach comes out on top as absolute soul food. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s a delicious way to get vegetables into the kids either!

The South African spinach recipe features at Sunday roast venues, in the local home and just about every restaurant across the country. Then, of course, there are grocery stores and takeaways that sell it too! So if you’re a spinach junkie, a nice steaming serving of creamed spinach is around just about every turn in the country – you’ll never go without it! And if you grow your own and get your hands on a delectable creamy spinach recipe, South Africa-style spinach may become a more regular thing in your life!

Before we leap into a delightful creamy spinach recipe South Africa style, let’s consider why spinach is a go-with-everything side serving. For starters, let’s talk about calories. Spinach only has 23 calories per 100g, and of course, it’s jam-packed with fibre, minerals and vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, iron, and potassium. In short, spinach is healthy, even if it’s creamy! So now that we’ve got that out the way, it’s time to try your hand at our favourite South African spinach recipe.

Creamy spinach recipe

The best creamy spinach recipe to come out of South Africa

If you’re hankering for creamed spinach like we are, you’re about to be treated to something special!. We got our hands on the very best South African spinach recipe for you to try. We tried it ourselves and have decided that it’s something worth writing home about! Here it is:

What you need (serves 4 side servings):

• 400 g fresh spinach
• 20 g butter
• 40 g olive oil
• 130 g finely chopped shallots
• 15 g finely chopped or grated garlic
• 25 g of flour
• 150 g of fresh cream (you can use cow’s cream or coconut cream)
• 150 g of milk (cow’s milk or plant-based milk)
• 2 g of nutmeg
• 1 g black pepper
• 15 g parsley
• 5 g salt to taste

What to do:

Whipping up this deliciously creamy treat is easier than you think. Simply follow the steps below:

• Wash the spinach under cold water to ensure that any dirt and sand are removed.
• Chop the shallots and garlic, put some butter and olive oil into a pan, and let the pan sweat on low heat.
• Add garlic and shallots to the pan when the butter is soft and start the cooking process. Add salt to the shallots, which draws out the water and stops the onions from caramelizing.
• While the onions continue cooking, gently cook the spinach by steaming it or boiling it.
• Add the flour to the pan with the onions and stir it in, allowing it to cook for 30 seconds.
• Now, add the cream, milk, pepper, parsley and nutmeg.
• Allow the contents of the pan to simmer while stirring continuously to ensure a smooth consistency. After 30 seconds, remove the pan from the heat and set it on one side. It’s now time to pay attention to the spinach.
• The cooked spinach will be full of water, so you need to squeeze it out. Squeeze out the spinach but don’t dispose of the water, as you can use it to alter the consistency of your creamed spinach at a later stage.
• Once the spinach is squeezed out, chop it up roughly and unevenly. This ensures that you aren’t left with long strands of spinach which can, surprisingly, become choking hazards!
• Now, add the roughly chopped spinach to the creamy saucepan and stir well. Add salt to adjust the taste and if you think it is too thick or stiff, add some of the spinach water to provide a smoother, more liquid consistency.

You can serve your creamy spinach with the following delectable combinations – you can’t go wrong!

• Slap chips (or air-fried chips), butternut (steamed) and calamari (or other types of fish).
• Steak, baked potato, and fresh veg mix.
• Chicken strips, rice, and steamed tomatoes.

Of course, as we already mentioned, there isn’t much that creamed spinach doesn’t go well with! So go wild – make it up as you go along!

Expert advice for SA expats at FinGlobal

At FinGlobal, our service is just as good as our creamy spinach recipe. We wouldn’t describe it as “delicious” per se, but we would say that we have a healthy service offering for you and that our team is so experienced and so good at what they do that our services come together like a fine South African food recipe!

Whether you’re just considering a move to foreign shores or have already made your way there, we can provide advice and guidance regarding various financial matters such as FOREX, financial emigration, tax, retirement annuities, pensions and much more.

If you’re looking for a team that can provide you with professional advice and guidance regarding your emigration, FinGlobal is the team to trust. With a decade of experience in the industry, our team’s goal is to provide you with the best advice they can. For a friendly discussion regarding your immigration requirements, you can contact our team today! To contact our team, call us at +27 28 312 2764 or email us at info@finglobal.com, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.